05.05.2025
A new episode of the podcast "The Art of Enrolling" hosted by RSUH Rector Andrei Loginov features Igor Shaitanov, a representative of the Institute of Philology and History at RSUH, discussing the three pillars of true higher education: tradition, people, and a big idea.
Andrei Loginov:
Dear colleagues, dear friends, we continue our series of podcasts, our ongoing conversations. Today, we are joined by a representative of the Institute of Philology and History of the Russian State University for the Humanities. I say “representative” because Igor Olegovich played a direct role in the creation of this Institute, its transformation from a faculty, and today heads a key educational and research center within it – the Center for Contemporary Comparative Studies. Igor Olegovich is also the editor-in-chief of Voprosy Literatury, the leading scholarly journal in the field of philological studies in Russia. He is a distinguished scholar in both Russian and foreign philology, and one of the country’s foremost Shakespearean scholars. Igor Olegovich, could you tell us how the idea, which I believe had been in the air since even before the 1990s, of establishing an institute focused on historical and philological training and research came to be?
Igor Shaitanov:
It all started when Yuri Afanasyev, the founder of RSUH, invited the renowned philologist and popular Moscow lecturer from Moscow State University, Galina Belaya. I witnessed their agreement firsthand. I saw her step out of a phone booth and say, “Igor, you’re the first I’m telling. Yuri Afanasyev just invited me to establish an Institute of Philology at RSUH. You must work there.”
I was stunned and didn’t immediately agree, to be honest. But by the time I joined, the Faculty had already started operating. It was a time of hopes and dreams. Galina Andreevna, encouraged by Afanasyev, set out to create a model university, Russian, yet integrated into the global academic system. She said, “I need people.” Afanasyev gave her carte blanche to invite anyone she wanted. As a result, over a year or two, a truly star-studded team was assembled at RSUH: internationally recognized names such as Elizar Meletinsky, Mikhail Gasparov, Sergey Averintsev, Yury Mann and several dozen other leading professors and scholars. Some gave lectures; others helped establish research centers. RSUH made a name for itself among Russian universities.
Andrei Loginov:
Looking back, many 19th-century Russian and foreign faculties were called “historical-philological”. Why do you think philology and history are so inseparable?
Igor Shaitanov:
Indeed, in large universities they were often separate. But in smaller institutions they were combined not just administratively but conceptually as well. A philologist without historical knowledge is nothing. And a historian, or any scholar of humanities without philology starts with a serious disadvantage.
Andrei Loginov:
Today, the interconnection between history and philology is perhaps most vividly realized at your Institute. Not just at RSUH, but also in other major universities in Moscow and across the country. This is crucial. Students seeking deep, professionally delivered knowledge of history, literature, philosophy, and culture, the foundation of our cultural and intellectual existence, can find all of that at your Institute.
Igor Shaitanov:
Absolutely right. You know, I once taught for several years at the English Department of the Moscow Pedagogical University. During an exam on English literature, one student was answering questions about Oscar Wilde, and it sounded coherent. But something felt off. I asked, “When did Oscar Wilde live?” He thought for a moment and said, “In the 14th century.” That’s what happens when philological knowledge is divorced from history.
Andrei Loginov:
Why do you think there’s a decline of interest in primary sources, which is such a crucial element for self-awareness, cultural identity, and understanding one's heritage, such as literature?
Igor Shaitanov:
Let me try to answer that. In the 20th century, particularly in the West, literary studies were dominated by “New Criticism.” This approach focused on immersion in the text and was isolated from everything else. For example, a famous Cambridge professor in the 1920s would give students a poem on a typewritten sheet with no title, no author, and no date. The idea was that all meaning lay within the text. It’s a good exercise, but it is limited. Eventually, this exclusive focus on text became exhausting.
Western professors I spoke with felt liberated from the dominance of pure textual immersion.
Russia never followed that route. We had the tradition of historical poetics, rooted in the ideas of our only true philological genius Alexander Veselovsky. At our Institute, historical poetics is foundational. It encompasses the history of ideas and context. Everything must be interconnected. Only within that conscious framework can we truly immerse ourselves in the text.
Andrei Loginov:
How are things with employment for your graduates?
Igor Shaitanov:
The situation is evolving. Our graduates face the important task of renewing philological science itself. We have many distinguished scholars, but we need more people to carry the torch forward. Due to the difficult 1990s and early 2000s, we have a gap in the middle generation of faculty. We do have excellent young teachers, but more are needed, and I think this is true across all Russian universities.
Still, beyond academia, there are many opportunities. If you can write, speak, and think, then all doors are open to you.
Andrei Loginov:
I’m absolutely convinced that graduates of your Institute will be in demand. The logic of societal and human development today – our cultural self-awareness, our relationship with history – all require historians and philologists of a new caliber. I believe many who are watching this podcast today, as future applicants, will be inspired to join your Institute.
